The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring snowfall amount for a vinyl house, more particularly, relates to measuring the width of snow accumulated on the roof of a green(vinyl) house, by analyzing measurement data including intensity, velocity(speed), wavelength or the combinations thereof of radio waves which are varied by medium of vinyl or snow by using a radar (radar, radio detection and ranging) sensor.
The present invention was supported by both the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Center) support program (1711035204 (HTP-2017-2015-0-00378)) supervised by th HTP (Institute for Information & communication Technology Promotion).
It has important meaning as data of future weather forecast to measure and analyze the accurate snowfall in winter. Especially, in the case of a farmhouse using a vinyl house, an accident that the vinyl house is collapsed due to the weight of the snow piled up on the roof of the vinyl house may occur in winter, so it is necessary to accurately measure the snow amount and load accumulated in the vinyl house.
There exist two methods od measuring snowfall amount. One is measuring height of snowfall and the other is measuring mass or volume of snow accumulated in a certain area. In the casse of measuring height of snow, there are ultrasonic snowfall amount meter and optical snowfall amount meter using laser sensor.
Conventionally, the measurement of snowfall on the ground was performed based on the distance between the ground and the snow-covered surface using the laser sensor.
However, conventional laser sensors used for snowfall measurement have difficulty in performing normal measurement when there is a blocking object or an obstacle at the place where the snowfall amount is measured and between the ground to be measured and the surface of accumulated snow, and there is a problem that the system implementation is very complicated and therefore expensive in this case.
For example, in the case that one wants to measure the amount of snowfall using a laser sensor in a special environment such as a vinyl house, not on the ground, it may be impossible to measure the distance between the laser sensor and the vinyl house roof which is the reference point, because the laser is passed without being reflected, absorbed or reflected by the obstacle on the roof surface which is a reference point by a blocking object or an obstacle such as the material of the vinyl, the barrier of the sunlight outside the vinyl house. As a result, the thickness of the snow piled on the roof of the vinyl house can not he normally measured.
Accordingly, the present invention proposes a method of thickness of snow piled on the roof of a vinyl house, through analyzing by measuring the radio waves which are varied by a medium such as vinyl, snow, etc. through a radar sensor in a specific environment such as a vinyl house.
Next, a brief description of the prior arts existing in the technical field of the present invention will be given, and then technical matters which the present invention intends to differentiate from the prior arts will be described.
At first, Korean patent registration No. 0348574 (published on Jun. 12, 2003) relates to an apparatus and method for measuring snowfall amount performing measurement of snow amount accumulated in remote area such as mountainous areas, insular and isolated areas, etc., and especially accurately measuring the optimum amount of snowfall for a certain period of time by sensing the height of the snow at regular intervals using a laser distance sensor.
The above-described prior art provides an effect that a correct snowfall amount can be quickly recognized even during a snowfall using a laser distance sensor, and an optimal snowfall amount can be obtained accurately while minimizing an error. Thereby there is some similarities with the present invention in that accurate snowfall is measured using reflected signal analysis.
However, since the present invention provides a technical structure capable of measuring thickness of snow piled on the roof of a vinyl house using a radar sensor, and the thickness can not be measured by the laser sensor of the prior art, And, thus the difference in the technical characteristics is clear when compared with the technical constitution of the prior art.
In addition, Korean patent registration 1509108 (Apr. 14, 2015) relates to a snowfall measuring device and its operating method, more specifically, it relates to a snowfall measuring device and its operating method capable of measuring the snowfall amount accurately in real time by minimizing error. This prior art enables a managing part continuously to remove moisture, snow, or ice stained in sensor part of the measuring part drawn or stored from the moving part which reciprocates the support rod and maintains the sensor part in clean state, and thus makes effects of minimizing errors and providing an accurate measurement of snowfall amount in real time.
However, the prior art is configured to which the sensor is moved up and down and contacts with the accumulated snow and measures the amount of snow accumulated on the ground. On the other hands, the present invention is configured to measure and analyze radio waves that are changed by a medium such as vinyl or snow through a radar sensor in a specific environment such as a vinyl house, so It can be confirmed that the difference between the prior art and the present invention in the technical construction is clear.
In addition, Korean patent registration 1634211(Jun. 28, 2016) relates to a snow removal system for a green house, and a snow removal method for a green house using the same, which can promote crop growth by protecting vinyl houses from natural disasters such as heavy snow, strong winds and high temperatures.
The above-mentioned prior art is capable of generating heat and wind at the inside and outside of the vinyl house at the time of heavy snow and abnormal weight of the snow compared to previously set weight, and thus it is possible to protect the crops safely by preventing the collapse of the green house during heavy snowfall. There is some similarity with the present invention in that the collapse of the green house can be prevented through accurate measurement of the snowfall amount.
However, unlike the prior art in which the weight of snow piled on the roof of a vinyl house is measured using a weight sensor, the present invention provides technical configurations of measuring and analyzing a radio wave that is changed by a medium such as vinyl or snow through a radar sensor, and then measuring the thickness of snow piled on the roof of a vinyl house based on the analysis results.
That is, the technology for measuring snowfall amount using a radar sensor proposed in the present invention is a characteristic composition of the present invention which is not mentioned in the prior art at all.
Since each of the above-mentioned prior art uses a laser sensor, they can not measure the thickness of snow on the roof of a vinyl house in a special environment such as a vinyl house. And since these provide technological configurations that can prevent the collapse of the vinyl house based on the weight of the snow measured using a weight sensor, there exists clear technical difference between the constitution of above-mentioned prior arts and that of the present invention in that the present invention provides a technology to measure the thickness of snow piled on the roof of a vinyl house based on the results of measuring and analyzing the radio waves that are changed by medium such as vinyl or snow through a radar sensor in a specific environment such as a vinyl house.